Battlefield 2042 plummets to 20,000 players on Steam

Nearly two weeks after its official launch, Battlefield 2042 has fallen to 20,000 players, according to charts from Steam. While that may still sound like a good chunk of players logging on at any given time, it's shocking for a game of such caliber in the gaming industry.

Before getting into the Steam numbers for Battlefield 2042, it's important to note that Steam is not the only service on which players can play the game. PC players can also exclusively play on Origin, and of course, there is an entire section of players that will be battling on consoles. But Steam charts can give a good idea of the game's trajectory.

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Battlefield 2042 player numbers on Steam, and where they are headed

Most services, whether they are on consoles or PC, will not release genuine player numbers for a given game. However, Steam charts have always been one way to see exact player numbers for games on the platform at any given time, and that includes Battlefield 2042.

The official launch date for Battlefield 2042 was November 19 for most players. There was early access for players who bought the Ultimate Edition, but the numbers begin with the official launch. On launch day, Battlefield 2042 was sitting at nearly 100,000 players at one time. Those numbers fluctuated, but that was a common high point for the game.

That trend continued up until November 22, which is when the player base noticeably started to fall down. Fast forward about five days, and the highest player point was heading to 50,000 at a time, but it held steady until the very end of the month. Now in December, Battlefield 2042 is averaging around 20,000 players on Steam. At times, the player count even dipped to 12,000 players.

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Why is the player count dipping in Battlefield 2042?

Since the release of Battlefield 2042, the player base has been more than frustrated with the state of the game. Aside from issues with available content, the game is simply in a perpetual state of bugs in many areas.

The combination of so many bad factors has led to many gamers simply leaving Battlefield 2042 for games like Vanguard or even Halo Infinite. Even the latest patch for Battlefield 2042 didn't seem to bring back much of the crowd. However, many of the bugs are likely to be fixed soon enough, and time will tell if players return.